Many diasporic Jews have strong ties to Israel but what does a diasporicnationalism mean and is it necessarily tied to territory? Over the course offour years J... » 

Many diasporic Jews have strong ties to Israel but what does a diasporicnationalism mean and is it necessarily tied to territory? Over the course offour years Jasmin Habib was a participant observer on tours of Israelorganized for diaspora Jews as well as at North American community eventsfocusing on Israel and Israeldiaspora relations. During this time Habibconducted extensive interviews with tourists and community members. The resultis a startlingly honest theoretically rich and detailed analysis of officialtour narratives and tourist interactions at a range of Israeli archaeologicalhistorical and military sites as well as back home in North America.In thisfirst ethnographic account of North American diaspora Jews imagining andexperiencing Israel Habib blends anthropological historical and culturalstudies theories together in an analysis of diaspora nationalism that has broadimplications. Reflecting on her personal history as a peace activist of mixedJewish and Palestinian parentage Habib looks at community events in NorthAmerica that celebrate the attachment and sense of obligation to Israel andIsraeli Jews and shares community members multiple dialogues on the conflictbetween Israel and Palestine. What emerges from this compassionate explorationis Habibs provocative contention that much of the existing literature aboutNorth American Jews and their relationship to Israel ignores their diversereactions to official narratives and perpetuates an official silencesurrounding the destructive aspects of nationalist sentiments. As a result ofthis silence Habib argues Jewish studies has been unable to assertdisciplinary autonomy from Zionist theory and modernism nationbuilding andnational territory have not been interrogated as analytical categories in thesenew geopolitical contexts. «